Rainey referendum on Southern Link to go to Nelson City Council

Nelson city councillor Pete Rainey has pushed ahead with his call for a referendum on the Southern Link, and has lodged a notice of motion that council will need to support next week if the poll is to go ahead.

Rainey, who is running for the Nelson mayoralty in the October election, says the statement he is putting forward can be answered with a very simple yes or no answer. It reads: ‘A new road should be built through Nelson’s southern suburbs down the Railway Reserve (the Southern Link)’.

“I’m now calling on my fellow councillors to join me in giving Nelson a voice on this issue,” he said. “Holding the poll at the same time as the election is the most cost effective way to do this. The results will be professionally delivered, and free from the political manipulation that has surrounded all surveys on the issue so far.”

Rainey said the poll would give everyone 18 or over in Nelson city the opportunity to be heard on the issue, no matter what part of the city they lived in and whether they rented or owned their own homes.

“I think there will be a lot of interest and that should see a higher voter turnout, especially by younger voters so I urge them to register to vote,” he said. “The referendum will allow those on both sides of the issue to have their say in the run up to the election and on polling day.”

Rainey said for a long time people have been making claims about ‘what Nelsonians think about traffic congestion’ but there has never been an independent opinion survey.

The motion on the referendum will go before the city council meeting on Thursday June 16.

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